Working at Home Online: Is It Really Possible?

Can you really work from home? More than seven million people now run their own businesses from home, and there's no reason that you can't be one of them. If you have work experience, you likely have a marketable skill that you can use to make money from home online. Some of these skills include:

taking customer phone calls - many companies outsource customer service to home workers

keeping an office organized - companies frequently hire virtual assistants to do just that

writing or editing - every company needs these services, and a growing number are outsourcing to freelancers online

coding or Web design - these skills are highly in demand and can earn a high wage online

graphic design - think of the number of websites springing up each day that need graphics

business management - online consulting is a viable business opportunity online

teaching - online tutors teach children every day through tutoring websites

Avoiding Work at Home Scams

While there are plenty of scams out there that target people who want to work from home, you don't have to fall prey to any of them. There are a few things to watch out for:

Jobs that ask for those with no skills

If you have no skill to offer, why would they need you? They could recruit anyone off the street or people overseas who may not speak English well.

Jobs that promise absurdly high hourly wages

These ads are common- they promise $70 an hour, $100 an hour, or even more. These are usually sites that want you to pay to find out how to get these jobs, and the jobs there will be ones that are freely advertised elsewhere and far lower paying than was advertised.

Jobs that ask for money upfront

While there are a very few instances where this is necessary, such as the background check that some companies require, 99 percent of the time, this is a scam. Never pay to work unless you know for a fact that the company has a flawless reputation and needs the money for a background check.

To find a real job online, look for established companies that have a reputatiormon with workers. Check online forums for company leads, or start your onw business. Millions of people have done it, and many of them find it a fun and challenging alternative to the world of cubicles and bosses.